This month
Welcome to New Agriculturist, the bi-monthly interactive window on news and developments in the industry on which we depend more than any other - agriculture.
Agriculture did not loom large in last month's Climate Change Conference in Kyoto. Experts warned that global warming can threaten lives - through heatwaves, violent weather and the spread of tropical disease. Yet climate change is also likely to cast a long shadow on food production as seasons become less reliable, rainfall patterns change and extremes of drought and flood stress crops, livestock and all those who depend on them. The droughts, fires and floods of recent months which have been blamed largely on the El Niño effect, may be a fore taste of the future, if it is the world's climate and not the Pacific current, that is the agent of recent change.
If change does occur the temperate countries may benefit from higher temperatures and longer growing seasons, and they have the resources to increase water catchment and storage to meet increased demand. But the tropics and sub-tropics, where population growth is greatest, will have to rely increasingly on crops that can tolerate heat and moisture stress. Yet these crops have received relatively little scientific research input compared with wheat, rice and maize. In New Agriculturist this month we report the work of one of only two international institutes that have focused on semi-arid crops and cropping systems - ICRISAT (the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) based at Patancheru near Hyderabad in central south India, which also has centres in Niamey, Niger and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe serving west and eastern/southern Africa. See Focus on . . . [The other major arid lands institute is ICARDA (The International Center for Research in the Dry Areas) based at Aleppo Syria. We hope to feature their work later in 1998].
New Agriculturist also recognises the growing importance of vegetable production both for income generation and enhancing nutrition. See Perspective. Biotechnology continues to excite and concern with its promise of quantum improvements in productivity of crops and livestock and fears of unforeseen side effects. For a review of some of the latest news and comment see Update on . . .
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Editorial team:
Michael Pickstock, Sarah
Reynolds, Patrick Harvey, Amelia Reynolds, Anne Pickstock, and Susanna
Thorp.
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Norman Reynolds and Patrick Harvey
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